Airtel, Vodafone-Idea face Rs 3,000 crore penalty
Highlights
- The penalty on Airtel and Vodafone works out to be about Rs 1,050 crore each and in case of Idea it comes to about Rs 950 crore
- Since Vodafone and Idea have now merged their businesses, the new entity Vodafone Idea will have to bear the burden of both companies
(Representative image)NEW DELHI: The Digital Communications Commission (DCC), the apex decision-making body of the telecom department, on Monday, approved imposing penalty on Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea for not providing points of interconnection to Reliance Jio. However, before imposing the penalty, the Commission has decided to seek the Trai's views on revising Rs 3,050 crore penalty recommended by the sector regulator amid financial stress in the sector.
While approving penalty on the companies, DCC disagreed with a proposal of one of the secretaries to fine Reliance Jio as it "too failed to deliver quality service to customers".
Trai in October 2016 recommended imposing total penalty of Rs 3,050 crore on Airtel, Vodafone Idea for allegedly denying inter-connectivity to newcomer RJio.
The penalty on Airtel and Vodafone works out to be about Rs 1,050 crore each. In case of Idea it comes to about Rs 950 crore. Since Vodafone and Idea have now merged their businesses, the new entity Vodafone Idea will have to bear the burden of both companies.
The regulator stopped short of recommending cancellation of their telecom licences saying it may lead to significant consumer inconvenience. Trai's recommendation came on a complaint by Jio that over 75 per cent of calls on its network were failing as incumbents were not releasing sufficient number of PoIs.
While approving penalty on the companies, DCC disagreed with a proposal of one of the secretaries to fine Reliance Jio as it "too failed to deliver quality service to customers".
Trai in October 2016 recommended imposing total penalty of Rs 3,050 crore on Airtel, Vodafone Idea for allegedly denying inter-connectivity to newcomer RJio.
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The penalty on Airtel and Vodafone works out to be about Rs 1,050 crore each. In case of Idea it comes to about Rs 950 crore. Since Vodafone and Idea have now merged their businesses, the new entity Vodafone Idea will have to bear the burden of both companies.
The regulator stopped short of recommending cancellation of their telecom licences saying it may lead to significant consumer inconvenience. Trai's recommendation came on a complaint by Jio that over 75 per cent of calls on its network were failing as incumbents were not releasing sufficient number of PoIs.
Planned base price of 5G spectrum too high: Telecom lobby
India’s top telecom lobby said the government’s proposed base price for the auction of spectrum for next-generation 5G networks is too high as the country outlined plans to launch the sale process this year.
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